September 10, 2012 10:48pm EDTSeptember 10, 2012 10:25pm EDTAnother year, another statement win over a divisional foe to start the season. Joe Flacco puts forth a near-perfect effort as the Ravens throttle the Bengals in their season opener on Monday Night Football.

BALTIMORE – The Ravens made a statement on last season’s opening day, throttling division rival Pittsburgh at home, sending a message to the rest of the AFC, and followed up by losing at the wire at New England in the conference championship game. The statement they made to open this season – 44-13 over another division foe, Cincinnati – looked awfully familiar.

Joe Flacco was on-point from the very beginning, just as he was a year ago … and as he was against the Patriots in the near-miss in January. His sparkling play rendered all other Ravens flaws virtually irrelevant. They played a patchwork line in front of him, they didn’t pound the running game, the defense sprung a handful of leaks. In the end, the Ravens still ran away with it.

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Flacco’s preseason was almost too good to believe, and when the real lights came on, he was a marvel: 21 of 29, 299 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and an early seat with nine minutes left at M&T Bank Stadium. The Bengals’ defense was not at full strength, but that should not give much relief to the rest of the defenses on the Ravens’ schedule if Flacco is as sharp as he was Monday. That includes Philadelphia next Sunday and the Patriots a week after that.

Here are three things we learned from the Ravens' Monday Night Football win over the Bengals:

The Ravens’ whole offense is living up to the hype.

Flacco couldn’t do what he did without the weapons he has. He went deep to Torrey Smith for 52 yards on the first snap of the game, the longest gain on the first play of the season in franchise history. (Yes, they keep track of that.) He spread the ball around to all his wideouts, tight ends and backs, so much so that Ray Rice only carried 10 times.

A fast-healing Terrell Suggs would help.

Not until Flacco and Co. put the game out of reach did the Ravens’ defense clamp down as it’s renowned for. Before that, though, Cincinnati hit them with four long scoring drives, ran at them at will and, early in the third quarter, trailed only 17-13. When the game was still on the balance, Suggs’ pass rush and run defense were sorely missed.

Cincinnati has found Andy Dalton and A.J. Green some help.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 91 yards, 62 in the first half when the game was close. Wideout Andrew Hawkins’s 86 yards on eight catches complemented Green well. This will not be a one-hit playoff wonder; the Bengals are talented enough to contend again.